ADBU Course on Communication for Development with UNICEF
Date : 8–10 August 2019 ( Assam Don Bosco University)

Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, Representative, UNICEF India country Office at Assam Don Bosco University

Assam Don Bosco University launches Course on Communication for Development in partnership with UNICEF

As part of the three-day ‘National Conference on Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) for North Eastern Region’, Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, Representative, UNICEF India country Office, launched an interdisciplinary course on Communication for Development (C4D) to be offered for post graduate students at Assam Don Bosco University. This course has been jointly developed and offered by Assam Don Bosco University and UNICEF. The conference was organised from 8 – 10 August 2019 at Assam Don Bosco University, Sonapur.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Haque said, “SBCC is all about partnerships. You have to be a believer in people’s agency and that they are capable in making decisions that impact their lives. Behaviour Change Communication is all about building partnerships with people from all walks of life. The far and wide reach of the Don Bosco Institutions will greatly impact the lives of children, youth and communities all over the world.”

“All the educational institutions of the North East India to be the leaders in creating a hub for training, research and promoting knowledge in the thematic area of SBCC. This would address bottlenecks and help the frontline workers, policy makers, academics and communities carry out the SBCC work more effectively,” added Dr. Haque.

Fr. Stephen Mavely, speaking on the new initiative said, “Don Bosco University closely involved in the development of SBCC work because it holds the promise of bringing all of us together -in unison towards the realisation of development, especially for the marginalised groups.”

Students of Assam Don Bosco University

Dr. Tushar Manohar Rane, Chief, Field Office, UNICEF office for Assam & North East, Fr. (Dr.) Stephen Mavely, the Vice-Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University, Mr. Siddhartha Shrestha, Chief, Communication for Development, UNICEF India, Dr. Joya Chakraborty, Head, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University, and Dr. Andrew Carlson, Associate Professor, Metropolitan State University, Minnesota, USA, were the other dignitaries sharing the dais.

Earlier in the conference, Shri Dipok Kumar Barthakur, Vice-Chairman, State Innovation and Transformation Aayog (SITA), Assam, had inaugurated the three-day National Conference on Social and Behaviour Change Communication on 8 August. Addressing the gathering, he said, “Development has to be a people centric process. It cannot be any longer confined to office rooms and drawing rooms of global development organizations, rather development has to be brought down to the national, regional and local levels and more importantly –down to the people.” He further added that C4D was fundamentally a social process that involved people in their development and guaranteed the rights of the most affected.

During the three-day SBCC conference, global experts in the field of C4D: Prof. David Mould, Professor Emeritus of Media Arts and Studies at Ohio University, Mr. Siddhartha Shrestha, Chief, Communication for Development, UNICEF India, Dr. Joya Chakraborty, Head, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University, and Prof. Andrew Carlson, Metropolitan State University, Minnesota, USA, where the other dignitaries sharing the dais, Prof. Bhavna Mehta, Faculty of Social Work, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Prof. Vasuki Belavadi, University of Hyderabad, Ms. Jisha Krishnan, Consulting Editor, Health Analytics Asia, will be facilitating the technical sessions on SBCC.

Participants from 18 universities in India, two faculty of the Royal University of Bhutan, development practitioners from 17 states of India, and students pursuing their advanced degrees attended the national conference.

C4D is an inter-disciplinary, systematic, planned and evidence-based strategic field of study and work that aims to promote positive and measurable social and individual behaviour change. C4D involves understanding the people, their beliefs and values, the social and cultural norms that shape their lives.

Monjib Mochahari
Assistant Professor
Assam Don Bosco University, Sonapur